Brad Penny, the Tigers' fifth starter a season ago, has reportedly signed a contract with the Softbank Hawks in Japan's Pacific League for next season.

It's a deal according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal that's worth $4 million in base salary — up a bit from the $3M that the 33-year-old Penny earned in Detroit — but could be worth up to $7.5M if he reaches certain performance bonuses. Rosenthal also reported that it's the largest contract ever given to an American pitcher in his first deal to play in Japan.

Penny said on Twitter that he "had offers here, but offer much better in japan."

Good for Brad, right?

If you ask a lot of Tigers fans, it's more like good riddance.

And my question is — why?

Why the hate for a guy that was 11-11 for a team that won 95 games last season, and advanced to the ALCS. He threw 182 innings. After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, he didn't miss a start in 2010.

As Jim Leyland said near the end of the season, "Pretty good for a fifth starter."

Yes he was slow. Yes he gave up 24 home runs in 31 starts.

But he battled.

Like father, like son, Tigers minor league catcher Patrick Leyland (@pleyland1013) said on Twitter Sunday: "Brad Penny wins 11 games as a fifth on a playoff team and nobody gives him a shot? There are a lot of teams that could use 11 as a fifth. ... People hate on brad but look up how many fifths won 11 and pitched 180 some innings saved the bullpen kept them in most games."

At this point, having made no move to replace Penny's rotation spot with a veteran hurler, the Tigers seem as if they are more than likely willing to let a handful of their pitching prospects — Jacob Turner, Duane Below, Andy Oliver, Adam Wilk, Drew Smyly — battle it out for the No. 5 spot in spring training.

Will the Tigers get a performance like Penny's from whomever wins the job?

Given their collective inexperience, I think they'd be ecstatic if they did.

All the more reason the Tigers went into the offseason looking for a low-cost insurance option they could plug in if those kids aren't ready.

And along the way, they've flirted with the idea of trading for guys like Gio Gonzalez or Matt Garza.

They still may be in the market. But that doesn't guarantee they'll get someone who performs better, even if they get a bigger name, or pay more money.

Put it this way: One of the guys that Tigers fans have been hoping they'd sign for the job, Roy Oswalt (who reportedly turned down a one-year, $10 million offer from the club) cost $16 million to post a 9-10 record with the Phillies last year. And he threw only 139 innings because of a balky back, which may or may not be better this year.

Not exactly bang for the buck.

I'm not insinuating that the Tigers have lost an irreplaceable cog, or that they'll be worse without Penny. May not make a whit of difference.

But fans might want to be careful what they wish for: You CAN do worse than what the Tigers got out of Brad Penny last season.

To say that Brad Penny is "deliberate" in his pace on the mound would be an understatement.

Perhaps the slowest worker among all the Tigers' pitchers, his exaggeratedly slow pace has merely been more noticeable with the addition of Doug "Get Ball, Throw Ball" Fister to the rotation.

It's surely something that every fan has noticed. And it's something that his manager has now spoken to him about.

"I talked to him a little bit in Cleveland about maybe picking up the pace a little bit, just to see if it helps. If it doesn’t work, it’ll be my fault," the manager said before Penny's start against the Twins Friday, noting that he doesn't know if the suggestion will be successful.
"I think sometimes, the longer you take before you throw it again, sometimes you outthink yourself. Get it back, look in for the sign, and throw it. Now, is it going to be that rapid (of) a pace? I can’t swear to that. But hopefully it’ll be a little quicker than it’s been.

"I don’t know that it’s going to help. We need him to pitch good tonight, whether he takes all day to do it. If he pitches good, that’s fine with me."

For Penny, who's in contention for the Tigers' fourth spot in the playoff rotation, a solid outing is a necessity in more ways than one. He's lost four of his last six decisions, dating back to July 23, and has a 6.85 ERA over that stretch.

In fact, according to HardballTalk.com, he has the fifth-worst ERA in the majors (6.49) since the All-Star break.

It's also a necessity for the playoff momentum of the Tigers (81-62), who have won six straight to pare their magic number down to just 12 with 19 games to go.

The theory, of course, is that a starter who works fast keeps the defense on its toes behind him.

"That’s a double-edged sword. Because if you tell somebody to throw it before they’re ready, and it’s not successful, then ..." Leyland trailed off. "I’ve always said it’s like a good or bad movie: If you go to a bad movie, and it’s slow, you leave. If you go to a good movie, and it’s long, you stay."

Join us for a live chat for today's game between the American League Central leading Detroit Tigers (59-51) and the AL West leading Texas Rangers (61-50). Brad Penny (7-8, 4.89 ERA) will be pitching in his 15th day game of the season, facing Alexi Ogando (10-5, 2.88 ERA), who's already beaten the Tigers twice this season.

Tigers lineup: Andy Dirks CF, Don Kelly 1B, Brennan Boesch LF, Miguel Cabrera DH, Victor Martinez C, Carlos Guillen 2B, Wilson Betemit 3B, Ryan Raburn RF, Ramon Santiago SS.

What do baseball players do in rain delays?

Some college players find creative ways, like this “jousting” contest between members of the High Point and Radford teams.

Professional players like the Tigers are not immune to that type of buffoonery, either. During the rain delay at the start of Tuesday’s game vs. the Blue Jays (and eventual rainout), the Tigers were bored enough to play a little locker room hockey. Starter Brad Penny posted a video on his Twitter account of someone dressed in full goalie gear taking a shot off the facemask.

While all names were omitted to protect the innocent parties (as well as the less-than-innocent), you can bet that big-time Red Wings and U-M hockey fan Brandon Inge, who keeps several hockey sticks in his Comerica Park locker, was at least an instigator, if not an active participant, in the harmless fun.

It appears everyone will get a little bit of what they want in this case.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman tweeted late Monday night that the Detroit Tigers had reached an agreement with pitcher Armando Galarraga on a 1-year, $2.3 million deal, avoiding the prospect of an arbitration battle.

For Galarraga, who has an astronomical run of bad luck — dating back to his stolen perfect game on June 2, through his inability to win a game for the remainder of the season (he finished 4-9 with a 4.49 ERA), to the likelihood that last week's signing of Brad Penny for the No. 5 starter role making the just-turned-28-year-old expendable — this was finally a bit of good fortune. After making just $438,000 last year, Galarraga got nearly a $2M raise.

For Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski, it's a still clean record of never going to arbitration in his tenure with the franchise. That record was in jeopardy, with the deadline for clubs and arbitration-eligible players to exchange offers looming Tuesday.

Now the two sides will have to figure out what Galarraga's role will be on the 2011 squad. With Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello set in stone atop the starting rotation, and the Tiger brass confident that lefty long reliever Phil Coke — a starter for most of his minor-league career — can make the transition back to starter, it appears that there's only one spot open on the starting staff. The Tigers agreed to terms on a one-year, $3 million contract with Penny last week, and even if the club has the two battle it out for the No. 5 spot, the veteran likely has a better chance, if he's back to his form of two seasons ago.

Galarraga is out of options, so the Tigers can't send him back to the minors, meaning — should he lose the battle for the No. 5 spot with Penny — they'll either have to put him in a long relief role in the bullpen, or see if he's got any value on the trade market.

UPDATE: The Tigers didn't let this one linger long, deciding just hours after officially announcing the deal with Galarraga to designate him for assignment. The organization will now try to trade him to a team looking for a back-of-the-rotation starter.
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